Author: Feminist Newswire

On Tuesday current employees of Walmart’s Tennessee stores announced a class-action lawsuit against the corporation on grounds of sex discrimination. The case, Phipps, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is a class-action suit that alleges that female employees in Tennessee did not receive the same pay or promotion opportunities as their male counterparts at Walmart.

This is the third regional discrimination case filed against Wal-Mart since June 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a national class-action lawsuit that included over 1.5 million women. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the suit was too varied in its allegations, showing no concrete pattern of gender bias, effectively making Walmart “too big to sue.”

In a statement, the named plaintiff in the Tennessee suit, Cheryl Phipps, said, “We seek justice for ourselves and all Wal-Mart women workers in this region who have been denied equal pay and opportunities for promotion. Many of us have waited more than a decade to have our day in court to fight for the pay and advancement opportunities that we rightly deserved.”

This suit follows two other cases that have recent been filed against the retail company on the basis of gender discrimination. The other cases are Dukes, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. filed in a California U.S. District Court and Odle, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. filed in a Texas U.S. District Court.

Media Resources: Nashville Public Radio 10/02/12; Feminist Newswire 06/07/12;U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Complaint Press Release; Feminist Newswire 02/21/12; Feminist Newswire 09/25/12

On Tuesday, just five weeks before Election Day, a Commonwealth Court judge halted enforcement of Pennsylvania’s strict new voting ID law from going into effect in the pivotal swing state until after this year’s presidential election. The law, enacted in March, requires that every person have a Department of Transportation (PennDOT) photo ID in order to vote in Pennsylvania. However, under the law, the state of Pennsylvania is supposed to provide alternative voter ID cards free of charge. In September, the State’s Supreme Court returned the case to the lower Commonwealth Court to assess the extent that approved voter ID’s are readily available to eligible voters.

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson ordered the state not to enforce the law for the November 6 election, stating “the proposed changes are to occur about five weeks before the general election, and I question whether sufficient time now remains to attain the goal of liberal access” to ID cards. The higher court ordered Simpson to block the law if eligible voters would be kept from voting as a result of it, or if he found that the state could not comply with its commitment to provide valid photo IDs to eligible voters within the time available before election day- he did not question the constitutionality of the law. Simpson’s decision will allow the law to go into effect in the future. An appeal of the decision is still possible.

Although the future of the law remains contested, the judge’s decision to block the law for the November 6 election is a win for Democrats, who have been fighting Republican-passed voter ID laws in many states this year. According to the Associated Press, “Pennsylvania’s new law, among the toughest in the nation, is a signature accomplishment of Republicans in control of Pennsylvania state government who say they fear election fraud. But it is an emotional target for Democrats who call it a Jim Crow-style scheme to make it harder for their party’s traditional voters, including young adults and minorities, who might not carry the right kind of ID or know about the law.”

A study released in September by the Black Youth Project indicated that one million young minority voters were at risk of being affected by new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states for the November 6 election.

Media Resources: NBC Politics 10/2/12; Huffington Post 10/2/12; MSNBC 10/2/12; NPR 10/2/12

The Republican National Committee ended its ties with Strategic Allied Consulting, a firm hired to register voters for the 2012 election, as Florida prosecutors investigate suspected voter fraud. The RNC’s decision to cancel its contract with Strategic Allied, founded by Nathan Sproul, comes just days before voter registration deadlines in many battleground states. This judgment has essentially halted all Republican registration effort in the key swing states of Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, and North Carolina.

With a close election there are concerns whether or not the allegations will hurt the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. “In any swing state that’s going to be significant because these elections are so close,” Lance deHaven-Smith, a Florida State University political science professor in Tallahassee said. “This gives an advantage to Obama.”

Sproul has a history of prior questionable election actions, such as discarding voter registration forms completed by Democrats, in an effort to aid Republican candidates, but none of these allegations have led to formal charges.

Media Resources: Maddow Blog 10/02/12; Bloomberg 10/01/12; LA Times 09/27/12

In Uruguay, the Chamber of Deputies voted 50 to 49 last week to legalize abortion. The AP reports that President Jose Mujica will allow the law to pass. Women will be allowed to access legal abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to the 14th week in cases of rape or incest. The new law also allows late abortions when the mother’s life is in danger and in instances of extreme deformation of the fetus.

Abortion will only be available, however, for those who jump through the extensive hoops the government has established. According to the Huffington Post, “compromises include requiring women seeking abortions to justify their request before a panel of at least three professionals- a gynecologist, psychologist and social worker- and listen to advice about alternatives including adoption and support services if should she decide to keep the baby. Then, she must wait five more days ‘to reflect’ on the consequences before the procedure.” The new laws also require parental consent or judicial approval if the woman is under the age of 18.

Uruguay is the second nation in Latin Americato legalize abortion access. Abortion is legal in Cuba in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 09/25/12; Christian Post 09/30/12; Huffington Post 09/25/12; NPR 09/26/12

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which would have provided about 200,000 domestic workers with overtime pay, meal breaks, and a suitable sleeping environment for live-in workers, due to what he claims to be a “number of unanswered questions” that the bill raises.

According to Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, “Governor Brown missed an opportunity to prove himself a leader in civil rights by ensuing that the people caring for California’s children, people with disabilities, and the elderly no longer have to go without proper sleep or meals.” The reality is that the majority of these caretakers are female immigrants and by vetoing this bill, their basic labor rights are being denied.

In 2010 New York passed a similar bill that acknowledged the unequal working conditions that many domestic workers face and how these individuals frequently go unnoticed. Despite this setback in California, the National Domestic Workers Alliance is pushing forward with more bills for equal labor rights in additional states within the next year.

Media Resources: National Domestic Workers Alliance; Huffington Post 10/01/12; Feministing.com 10/01/12

Recently, an Illinois Appeals Court ruled in favor of two pharmacists who refused to fill emergency contraception prescriptions on the basis of their religious beliefs. On Friday, September 21, the court determined the plaintiffs’, Luke Vander Bleek and Glenn Kosirog, right to conscience permitted them from dispensing the morning-after pill as required by a 2005 executive order.

An amicus brief on behalf of the state has been filed in response by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU). Ed Yohnka, ACLU spokesperson responded to the Appeals Court ruling by saying, “We are dismayed that the court expressly refused to consider the interests of women who are seeking lawful prescription medication and essentially held that the religious practice of individuals trumps women’s health care.”

In February, Washington state officials blocked the state from enforcing rules requiring pharmacists to provide emergency contraception regardless of religious objections. Last week, the New York City school system began a pilot program offering emergency contraception to some high schools students.

Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 09/27/12; Washington Times 02/22/12; Huffington Post 09/21/12; Court Opinion 09/21/12; Chicago Tribune 09/22/12

On Saturday California Governor Jerry Brown signed the historic SB 1172, a bill banning so-called “reparative” therapies for LGBT youth, the first bill of its kind to be signed into law in the United States. The bill was authored by State Senator Ted W. Lieu (D) and co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California, Gaylesta, Courage Campaign, Lambda Legal, and Mental Health America of Northern California with the support of dozens of other organizations. The law bans therapies intended to change the sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression of minors, and will take effect on January 1, 2013.

“This bill bans nonscientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide,” Governor Brown said in a statement. “These practices have no basis in science or medicine, and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery.”

“Governor Brown has sent a powerful message of affirmation and support to LGBT youth and their families,” NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell said. “This law will ensure that state-licensed therapists can no longer abuse their power to harm LGBT youth and propagate the dangerous and deadly lie that sexual orientation is an illness or disorder that can be ‘cured.'”

In addition to SB 1172, Gov. Brown also signed two other LGBT rights bills into law. He signed SB 2356, which ensures equal access to fertility services; and AB 1856, which requires all individuals seeking to become foster parents to have “instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care” for LGBT youth. Brown also vetoed SB 1476, which would have created a legal structure for acknowledging additional parents that may be part of a child’s life because of same-sex relationships, surrogacy, adoption, and remarriages. Brown said he needs more time to consider the implications of this bill.

Media Resources: Huffington Post 9/30/12; AP 10/1/12; New York Times 9/30/12; Think Progress 10/1/12; NCLR Blog 9/29/12

Yesterday, Right Wing Watch released a video from early in Todd Akin’s Senate campaign in which Akin admits to having been arrested for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic. The video, from a “pastor’s briefing” in 2011, features Akin alongside David Barton addressing an audience about when religious values must submit to government authority.

In the video, Akin says candidly to the audience, “Yesterday I spoke to a group of people who had been in jail with me, you know don’t tell anybody I’m a jail bird, you know, but there were a bunch of us that were years ago involved in the pro-life movement and the question becomes: the Bible says, ‘rescue the innocent that is being led to slaughter,’ so a bunch of us sat in front of these doors and the police gave us a ride to the free hotel for a while and you know how it goes, and the question is, is that biblical or not?”

Akin already faced nationwide criticism last month after sparking controversy by claiming that “legitimate rape” does not usually lead to pregnancy. Akin has been endorsed by right wing staunch women’s rights opponent Phyllis Schlafly, who stood to the right of Todd Akin at his press conference earlier this week when he announced he will stay in his race against incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill. Akin had faced pressure to drop of the race due to his “legitimate rape” comment. Many Republicans, including Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), and four former Missouri Senators, have urged Akin to step down from the race.

Media Resources: Huffington Post 9/27/12; Right Wing Watch 9/27/12; Feminist Newswire 9/26/12, 8/24/12

Yesterday, the City Council of Austin, Texas, passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage. While the resolution is not a law, the city council’s unanimous vote to officially support marriage equality is the first in the state.

Marriage equality activists hope that the council’s decision can lead to more action in the struggle to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In 2005, Texas voters approved an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Despite many legal battles in 2009, the law is still in effect in Texas today.

Media Resources: KXAN 9/27/12; ThinkProgress 9/27/12

A pilot program initiated in private school health clinics in New York City was expanded into 13 public schools. The program called CATCH, Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Health, seeks to reduce teen pregnancy by providing contraceptive care. Through CATCH students can receive condoms, pregnancy tests, birth control pills, Depo-Provera (an injection that prevents pregnancy for three months, and the morning after pill Plan B. According to the New York Times, the program has been in effect in public schools since January 2011 but did not receive much attention until now.

To get Plan B, a student needs to do is go to the school nurse or clinic and say that they have had unprotected sex. The student will then take a pregnancy test and if it is negative, the nurse can dispense the medication.

Parents or Guardians can sign an “opt-out” form removing their child from the program. Opponents of CATCH claim the program will lead to more sexually active young teens.

One pair of 14 year olds told the New York Post “I don’t want to be a young kid who gets pregnant and can’t find a job” and “I would go to the nurse without telling my parents, and I would ask for help.”

Media Resources: Washington Times 9/25/12; New York Post 9/23/12; New York Times 9/23/12

The Canadian Parliament voted to defeat an anti-abortion motion last night by a vote of 203-91. Motion 312, proposed by conservative Member of Parliament Stephen Woodworth, would authorize investigation into the rights of the fetus. Many pro-choice activists believe the motion would have restricted abortion access in Canada.

During discussion on Motion 312, Woodworth doubted he would get enough support. “At this point I am not optimistic that I will come close to the 50 per cent required to pass this motion, although I continue to want to meet with Members of Parliament and to try to convince them of that,” Woodworth said.

The vote did reveal a surprising supporter of Motion 312 – Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose. Since her controversial vote in favor of Motion 312, Minister Ambrose has faced widespread public criticism, including suggestions that she resign. “She has to think about [stepping down],” fellow MP Maria Mourani said. “Because if she doesn’t fight for women’s rights, I don’t know what she does in this place.”

Media Resources: Globe and Mail 9/27/12; 9/26/12; Feminist Newswire 9/18/12

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli approved new regulations yesterday designed to force existing abortion clinics to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. The TRAP laws (targeted-regulations-of-abortion-providers) will now head to Governor Bob McDonnell for approval.

The Virginia Board of Health met on September 14th and voted 13-2 to reverse their June decision to grandfather in existing clinics, thus exempting them from new, hospital-like restrictions. Instead, the board is requiring existing clinics to come into compliance with regulations within two years or face closure. Cuccinelli refused to accept the June grandfather provision and asserted the board did not have the authority to amend the regulations. Cuccinelli also released a memo on September 12th, threatening Board of Health members by stating that they would not be able to receive state legal counsel if they disregarded his recommendations.

The September 14th hearing was packed with pro-choice and anti-choice advocates hoping to speak before the board. 80 people were allowed into the board room, while 50 watched the hearing in an overflow room. Some 200 people did not gain entrance, but demonstrated outside the building. After the Board reversed its decision, some pro-choice advocates walked out of the room, chanting “shame, shame, you don’t care if women die.”

After the governor approves the TRAP laws there will be a 60 day comment period after which the law will go back before the Board of Health for final approval. This lengthy process makes it difficult to challenge the law in court. Legal challenges are not possible until after the regulations have been implemented. It is expected that the regulations won’t be in effect until next year.

Media Resources: Richmond Times Dispatch 9/27/12; Feminist Newswire 9/14/12

Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) has passed the deadline for withdrawing his campaign for the United States Senate, meaning he will officially be on the ballot in November challenging incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Many had urged Akin to drop out of the race before today’s deadline after his infamous statements on “legitimate rape.”
“For the about 100th time or so, I am in this race,” Akin commented to reporters at a fundraiser Monday night. Akin plans to use the deadline to increase donations to his campaign, starting with a statewide bus tour.

In an interview aired on August 19th, Akin claimed that “legitimate rape” does not usually lead to pregnancy. “First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin said to KTVI-TV. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.” [Emphasis added]

Since the interview, many Republicans, including Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), and four former Missouri Senators, have urged Akin to step down from the race.

UPDATE: Right wing, staunch women’s rights opponent Phyllis Shlafly stood to the right of Todd Akin at his press conference announcing he was staying in the Senate race [VIDEO]. Schlafly and Newt Gingrich have endorsed Akin, and on Tuesday Schlafly helped Akin launch a “Common Sense” tour across the state. Scflafly, together with big business interests (especially insurance companies), is one of the most active opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment. She is also active against abortion, birth control access, equal pay, paid family medical leave, and LGBT rights.

Media Resources: Christian Science Monitor 9/26/12; Huffington Post 9/26/12; Kansas City Star 9/25/12; KSDK 9/25/12; Feminist Newswire 8/24/12

Following an investigation into the handling of sexual assault reports at the University of Montana in Missoula launched last spring, the university is receiving a $300,000 grant to hire a violence intervention director and expand campus wide programs addressing violence. The director position will be funded for one year, and will work out of the Student Assault Resource Center, which currently relies primarily on volunteer advocates. The grant will also support the university’s Men Can Stop Rape program.

The DOJ investigation of the University of Montana in Missoula was prompted by an alarming number of sexual assaults—there were 80 reported cases of rape at the university in the three years leading up to the investigation. There were 11 sexual assault reports involving students at the University of Montana in the eighteen months prior to the investigation.

“This grant is an important step toward demonstrating a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence against our sisters, daughters and friends,” Senator Max Baucus said to the Missoulian, a local newspaper. “The more we can work together to target the scourge of domestic violence on campus and off campus, the better we’ll be as a society.”

According to Baucus, this grant was available through the old version of the Violence Against Women Act, which was passed in 1994 and has been reauthorized and updated with bipartisan support ever since, until this year. The House is currently blocking the passage of the Senate-approved, bipartisan VAWA reauthorization.

Media Resources: Feminist Daily Newswire 5/8/12; Missoulian 9/24/12; Jezebel 9/25/12

The Chamber of Deputies of Uruguay will vote today on a measure that could legalize first trimester abortion. The measure has already passed in the Uruguayan Senate.

The measure would legalize abortions under 12 weeks and 1 day in gestation. However, the measure also requires a five-day waiting period for women seeking an abortion as well as permission from the father. In addition, a woman would also be required to meet with a team of at least three medical professionals who must inform her of the risks associated with an abortion procedure as well as adoption and maternity leave programs.

Neither anti-choice nor pro-choice groups approve [Spanish] of the measure. Anti-choice organizations have argued against any legalization of abortion, while pro-choice organizations are outraged over the requirements a woman must go through in order to get an abortion under the proposed law.

Currently, Cuba is the only country in Latin America where abortion is legal. In Uruguay, abortion is only available in the case of severe fetal deformations and rape up to 14 weeks gestation.

Media Resources: El Universal [Spanish] 9/25/12; Huffington post 9/25/12

A federal judge has agreed to hear arguments is a sex discrimination case brought by women employees of Walmart in California. The case, Dukes vs Walmart, is a class-action suit that alleges that female employees in California did not receive the same pay or promotion rates as their male counterparts in Walmart stores throughout the state.

In June 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a national class-action lawsuit of the same name which included over 1.5 million women. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the suit was too varied in its allegations, showing no concrete pattern of gender bias, effectively making Walmart “too big to sue.” Since then, separate complaints have been filed in every state except Montana and Vermont.

“We have maintained all along that the Supreme Court’s decision did not preclude us from seeking justice for the women of Walmart through class actions consistent with its new guidelines and standards, nor did the Court rule on the merits of the case,” said Brad Seligman, the lead counsel representing the women. “This decision vindicates our argument.”

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer denied Walmart’s request to dismiss the case on the grounds that the current selection of women is still too large. Breyer has set a date for February 15th, 2013, to determine if the group of almost 100,000 women can sue as a group.

Media Resources: Bloomberg 9/22/12; Feminist Newswire 6/7/12; 10/28/2011

Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) has passed the deadline for withdrawing his campaign for the United States Senate, meaning he will officially be on the ballot in November challenging incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Many had urged Akin to drop out of the race before today’s deadline after his infamous statements on “legitimate rape.”

“For the about 100th time or so, I am in this race,” Akin commented to reporters at a fundraiser Monday night. Akin plans to use the deadline to increase donations to his campaign, starting with a statewide bus tour.

In an interview aired on August 19th, Akin claimed that “legitimate rape” does not usually lead to pregnancy. “First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin said to KTVI-TV. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.” [Emphasis added]

Since the interview, many Republicans, including Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), and four former Missouri Senators, have urged Akin to step down from the race.

Media Resources: Kansas City Star 9/25/12; Feminist Newswire 8/24/12

Women are running for congress in record numbers this year. Now that all candidates have been nominated for the November 6th elections, 18 women are running for Senate (the previous record was set in 2010 at 14), and 163 women are running for House seats (more than the 2004 record of 141).

“Not since the so-called ‘Year of the Woman’ in 1992 have we seen such a leap in the number of women stepping forward to contend for congressional seats,” observed Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) director Debbie Walsh in a press release . “Many of the same factors are in play- the crucial first election after reapportionment and redistricting, news events underscoring the need for women’s voices in policymaking, and a presidential election year generating political excitement.”

CAWP also reports that more than twice as many Democratic women as Republican women will run for office in this election cycle.

Media Resources: NPR 9/23/12; CAWP Press Release 9/13/12

Michelle Obama gave a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation last Saturday night focused on getting out the vote. Although Obama made no direct reference to the voter-ID laws that have dominated much of the news cycle this election season, she drew comparisons between turning out the vote to the civil rights struggles of the past.

“Make no mistake about it, this is the march of our time,” Obama said . “Marching door-to-door registering people to vote, marching everyone you know to the polls every single election.” This, she said, “is the movement of our era- protecting that fundamental right, not just for this election but for the next generation and generations to come.”

Voter suppression laws are currently being contested in swing states like Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida, among others. A study released earlier in September by the Black Youth Project projects that one million young minority voters could be affected by new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states.

Media Resources: Washington Post 9/22/12; The Root 9/23/12; Huffington Post 9/22/12; Daily Feminist News Wire 9/13/12

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez (R) removed a provision of new proposed updates to the state’s Child Care Assistance Policy that would add “forcible rape” as a condition for those seeking assistance.

The Children, Youth, and Families Department’s (CYFD) policy originally stated that a woman seeking assistance for a child must be in contact with the other parent and file a child support claim to be eligible, but the policy made an exception for children “conceived as a result of incest or forcible rape” [emphasis added].

Reproductive justice blog RH Reality Check first posted about the language in the policy on Thursday. The story was quickly picked up by news outlets such as the Huffington Post.

A few hours later, Governor Martinez instructed her administration to remove “forcible rape” from the new policy. In a statement released by the office of the CYFD, the department said: “It’s clear the language was only in the proposed version because of its usage in the same federal regulations and its in [sic] existence in federal statute. At least five states use the exact same language in their existing childcare regulations: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Maryland and Maine… The Governor feels the language is redundant and unnecessary, and she does not support its usage. It has been removed from the proposed regulation changes.”

It still remains unclear whether rape survivors will have to seek child support from their rapist before receiving child care assistance in New Mexico.

Media Resources: Huffington Post 9/20/12; RH Reality Check 9/20/12; ThinkProgress 9/20/12